Mail-bag catcher



(No Model.) I

' J. W. HORTON.

MAIL BAG OATGHER.

No. 478,604. Patented July 12, 1892.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES IV. HORTON, OF MADISON, INDIANA.

MAI L-BAG CATCH ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 478,604,1lated July 12,1892.

Application filed August 31, 1891. Serial No. 404,292. (No model.)

T0 alt whom it may concern: I Be it known that I, JAMES W. HORTON,residing at Madison,in the county of Jefferson and State of Indiana,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Catchers,of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object to provide a mail-bag catcher whichshall be simple in in its construction, easy to manipulate, andeffective for its desired purpose.

It has also forits object to provide a catcher in which the holdingdevices will yield to the inertia of the bag to overcome the shock andin which theholding-arms are arranged to be quickly and easily reversedwithout the necessity of detaching the main frame from its supports orthe arms from the main frame.

With other minor objects in view, which will hereinafter be referred to,my invention consists in the peculiar combination and novel arrangementof parts, all of which will hereinafter be fully described in theannexed specification, and particularly pointed out in the claims,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is aside elevation of myimproved catcher, showing it supported in its normalposition over the car-door. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same swung outto catch the bag, the holding-arms being shown in dotted lines in theirclosed position. Fig. 3 isa cr0ss-section on the line 33, Fig. 1; andFig.4 is a detail view hereinafter referred to.

In the accompanying drawings, Aindicates the main or supporting bar,which is hung at its ends in bearings a a, secured upon the outer facesof the car-door posts a a, to which bar are secured the catching andholding arms,which in their normal position are pendent, as shown inFig. 1;they being thrown out to their operative or horizontal position(shown in Fig. 2) by means of a lever-arm A, projected into the car,which when pushed down to a horizontal position rocks the bar A andswings the catcher-arms out, as stated.

While'I have not shown it, a suitable catch for holding the arm A downis provided, so the attendant can set the catcher at any time and leaveit in position for operation.

One of the essential features of my invention is to provide catcher armswhich are adapted to be readily reversed, so as to operate it in eitherdirection of movement of the car, and to render such reversing operationsimple and yet provide arms whichwill positively grasp the hag,'Iprovide centrally of the bar A a swivel-bearing B, the lower end ofwhich is bifurcated, as shown at b.

O 0 indicate elongated horizontallydisposed slots arranged near theouter ends of the arm A, and D indicates a sliding head which is guidedon the arm A by means of the studs d d, which enter the slot 0.

By reference to the drawings it will be noticed that the head D isformed on the inner end of a rigid catcher-arm D, the free end D ofwhich is curved outward and serves as a guide for moving the bag towarda pivoted or locking catcher-arm E, which is pivoted at e to the rigidarm D and at e in the forked end of the bearing 13. The outer end of thearm E, which is of approximately the same length as the arm D is forkedat E,such forked end being adapted to embrace the outer end D of the armD when the parts are in their closed position, as shown in dotted linesin Fig. 2.

In operation, when the train moves in the direction indicated bythearrow in Fig. 2, the arm D when it engages the bag is forced slightlyrearward and outward, thereby causing the arm E to close in over the endD of the arm D, and as the bag strikes against the short member E of thearm it will move the head and arm D'D to the position shown, and in sodoing will cause the base a of the fork E to engage the arm D, andthereby limit the rear movement of head D in the slot A, which, as willbe noticed, is not to the rear extremity of such slot. By moving thehead D toward the swivel-bearin g I3 the arms will open and the bag bedetached. In each outer end of the slots A notches a a are cut, as shownmost clearly in Fig. 4 of the drawings. When it is desired to reversethe catcherarms, the operatorcloses the arm E inward, lifting the forkedend so as not to embrace the arm D. He then presses the said arm Dinward in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2 until the studsd d of the head D register with the notches a or, when the head willbecome detached from the slot 0. Both arms are then swung around on thebearing B and the head D connected With slot C, when the device Will beready to operate on the reverse movement of the car.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Paten t, is

1. A mail-bag catcher consisting of a main bar A, a rigid catcher memberD, having its inner end D adapted for longitudinal movement on saidbarA, such end being connected to such bar and arranged when extended tobecome detached therefrom, the block 13, sWivor catch member D, havingasliding connection D with the said bar A, of the arm E, pivoted at itsinner end to the rigid member D and at a point in advance of such end tothe bearing B, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination of the main bar A, formed with elongated slots C O inits ends, the swivel-bearing B,the sliding head D, having studs d cl,fitting either of the slots 0 C and the rigid catch member D, and theforked catcher-arm E, pivoted near its end into the swivel-bearing andat its end to the rigid arm D, as and for the purpose described.

4. In a mail-bag catcher, the combination, with the main framehaving theopposite e1on gated slots 0 0, formed with notches a a in their outerends, and the swivel-bearing B, of the rigid catcher-arm D, having ahead portion D, formed with lateral studs dd, arranged to fit in eitherof the slots 0 C, and 'the catcher-arm E, pivoted near its end in thebearing B and at its end to the arm D, all arranged substantially as andfor the purpose described.

J AMES \V. HORTON.

Vitnesses:

FRED G. DIETERIOH,

AMOS W. HART.

